Strengths and Weaknesses

Weaknesses

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. Orcs are the slowest starters in the game. They build as slow as NE and Undead, and a peon of theirs is tied up during the process. They are bar none the worst wood harvesters in the game. Night Elves don’t use up their forests and don’t spend time delivering the wood. Undead harvesters carry twice as much wood per load, while human peasants can learn to carry that amount. Orcs are just stuck at ten wood per delivery, all the while consuming forests.

Finally, their tier one units leave a little something to be desired. Their expensive unit, the grunt, is meant to be equivalent to the huntress, yet is not. It is slower, does less damage (if you factor in the huntress bounce), doesn’t have the advantage of a ranged attack, is just as bulky, takes as long to build and costs almost as much. The Human and Undead expensive tier 1 units are ranged attackers, not serving well as a comparison to the grunt. Undead rarely use Crypt Fiends due to their bulk and slow attacks, but Human Riflemen can be a potent threat. Fortunately for the Grunt, it has the most hitpoints out of any of these units and serves as a great meatshield.

The Orcs’ cheap tier 1 unit, the Troll Headhunter, is another exercise in frustration. While less bulky than the Grunt, it can’t hold a candle to its most direct competitor, the NE Archer. Archers do less damage per hit but fire more often, while having the advantage of significantly greater range. The Human tier 1 cheap unit is the Footman, with the wonderful Defend ability. Humans can get by solely with this unit for the early part of the game. Undead are able to muster a decent rush with their Ghouls, who maintain some late-game viability thanks to Ghoul Frenzy.

The Orc air attack is atrocious. Their only air unit is the Wyvern Rider, whose piercing attacks are next-to-useless against buildings. The Wyverns are good units to use in combat versus other flyers, but like all air units, they are very expensive and fall all-too-easily to anti-air.

Orc units do not have any healing beyond their natural regeneration until the Troll Witchdoctor gains Healing Wards at tier 3. This makes keeping your forces healthy particularly important, thus the popularity of the Far Seer hero and his expendable summoned wolves.

Strengths

The Orcs have a number of advantages. Their tier 3 ground attack is simply the most devastating in the game. Between Shaman Bloodlust, Witchdoctor Healing Wards and Tauren, no regular land army can hold off an Orcish assault. At this point in the game Undead, Night Elves and Humans can only hope to outproduce their foes, or get fancy with their tricks. Humans can use Dispel magic from their priests to cancel bloodlust and slow from sorceresses, or just use the sorceress’ polymorph ability. Night Elves need to rely on the Druid of the Talons’ Cyclone, while Undead can turn Orc armies against themselves with the Banshee’s Possession.

The Horde has probably the best base defenses in the game. Spiked Barricades (researched at the War Mill) inflict damage on all melee attackers who strike Orcish buildings. Orcish Burrows provide an immediate defense for peasants, but unfortunately have only Normal, not Fortified armor. Supplementing your burrows with one or two Watch Towers will discourage rushing, to say the least.